Paolo Scheggi

Galleria del Naviglio, Milan

Galleria Niccoli, Parma

Acquired from the above by the present owner circa 2004

Naples, Galleria Il Centro, Paolo Scheggi, Opere dal 1960 al 1971, January 1974

Bologna, Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Paolo Scheggi, 6 October – 10 November 1976, n.p., no. 38, illustrated (incorrectly titled)

Francesca Pola, Paolo Scheggi, The Humanistic Measurement of Space, Milan 2014, p. 193, illustrated

Exh. Cat., Paris, Tornabuoni Art, Paolo Scheggi, 23 October - 22 December 2015, p. 351, illustrated

Luca Massimo Barbero, Paolo Scheggi, Catalogue Raisonné, Milan 2016, p. 281, no. 68 T 5, illustrated

Colour: The colour in the catalogue illustration is fairly accurate. Condition: Please refer to the department for a professional condition report.
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"[In 1968, Scheggi] continued with an even more rare diagonal slippage in a few works that were deep, black in tone and with the optical occupation of the geometric bodies in an absolute growing dark state, becoming perforation of nightfall, suggestion of soul and emotion."

Luca Massimo Barbero, 'The inimitable Complexity of a Path between art and life', in: Luca Massimo Barbero, Paolo Scheggi, Catalogue Raisonné, Milan 2016, p. 55

A pink diamond adorned with a neat grid of circular apertures, Intersuperficie Curva Dal Rosa is a unique paradigm of Paolo Scheggi's idiosyncratic exploration of space. Part of his most celebrated series – the Intersuperficie – the work's circular openings are imbued with additional spatial dimensions through the superimposition of three overlapping canvases. Each circle represents a miniature curtain that opens up the stage for the spatial spectacle of various perpendicular shapes and forms. As pointed out by Luca Massimo Barbero: "In these works, extraordinary importance is again given to the breadth of the first canvas, left widely intact, on which light arranges itself justifying and exalting the monochromatic fullness of the canvas, often painted in bright colours [...]" (Luca Massimo Barbero, 'The inimitable Complexity of a Path between art and life', in: Luca Massimo Barbero, Paolo Scheggi, Catalogue Raisonné, Milan 2016, p. 55).

Situated at the centre of a burgeoning Italian avant-garde art scene during the 1950s and 60s, Scheggi’s multifaceted and experimental oeuvre ranges from his celebrated paintings through to architectural practice, fashion projects and theatrical performances, all of which seem to culminate in his acclaimed Intersuperficie works. When Scheggi moved to Milan in 1961, the Lombard capital provided a germinating ground for his radical ideas and he soon became associated with artists such as Lucio Fontana, Agostino Bonalumi, and Enrico Castellani. This group sought to overcome the stagnant two-dimensionality of the canvas through Spatialism – an inspired and innovative new artistic expression that was defined as the Pittura oggetto movement by art critic Gillo Dorfles.

In their physical exploration of the spatial dimensions of painting, Scheggi’s canvases are closely linked to the accomplishments of his predecessor, Fontana, who followed Scheggi’s career closely. Where Fontana’s slashed canvases encourage a metaphysical notion of looking beyond, Scheggi takes this one step further and asks the viewer to look within the canvas itself as he investigates the potential of the void. The creation of these complex spaces meant that Scheggi could explore the counterpoint of perception and spatial interpretation, a dynamic that is masterfully displayed in the present work.